1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and process for producing an enriched medical suspension of a sclerosant or other chemical medical solution, for example, polidocanol.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention utilizes the Venturi effect to produce an enriched medical suspension of a sclerosant or other chemical medical solution, for example, polidocanol for use in various applications. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, polidocanol is used as a sclerosant to treat varicose veins by causing fibrosis inside varicose veins, occluding the lumen of the vessel, and reducing the appearance of the varicosity. Polidocanol damages the cell lining of blood vessels. The damage to the cell lining causes the blood vessels to close. These vessels are ultimately replaced. The apparatus of the present invention is simple to manufacture and use because it does not require an impeller and incorporated fan in order to create and dispense the enriched medical suspension of polidocanol.
The Venturi effect is an example of Bernoulli's principle, in the case of incompressible fluid flow through a tube or pipe with a constriction in it. The fluid velocity must increase through the constriction to satisfy the equation of continuity, while its pressure must decrease due to conservation of energy; the gain in kinetic energy is supplied by a drop in pressure or a pressure gradient force.
The limiting case of the Venturi effect is choked flow, in which a constriction in a pipe or channel limits the total flow rate through the channel because the pressure cannot drop below zero in the constriction. Choked flow is used to control the delivery rate of water and other fluids through spigots and other types of valves. The portable apparatus of the present invention utilizes a source of pressurized medical fluid, to produce the desired pressure and flow for the effective creation of an enriched medical suspension.